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 City councilors pose with members of UNITY's Youth Leadership Program on Tuesday. |
North Adams Council Asked to Support Skate ParkBy Tammy Daniels
iBerkshires Staff
10:55PM / Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Brittany Shephard, a member of the Youth Leadership Program, tells councilors of some of the issues the group's concerned about. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — City councilors quizzed members of UNITY's Youth Leadership Program on Tuesday on their hopes for a skateboard park and applauded their efforts.
The group attended the meeting after two hours of talk with Mayor Richard Alcombright and City Councilor Michael Boland on a variety of issues, including a commission for youth.
One of Alcombright's stated goals in last year's mayoral campaign was to give the city's youth a voice in local government. To that end, he had invited the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition group to meet with him and then make a presentation at the council's regular meeting.
"I was very excited to have these folks come and visit us and actually become part of city government," said Alcombright. Boland commended the group: "The way they articulated their ideas was very impressive."
Some 20 teens attended the gathering and of all the issues, the long-desired skateboard park rose to the top.
"We talked about some of the issues we thought were important to the community, such as low-income housing, and possibly a teen center," said program member Brittany Shepard. "But the one that we put most of our energy and time and passion into, really, is the interest in the skate park."
Shephard continued that the mayor had charged them with researching the location, liabilities, safety and other considerations, including ways to measure and solicit community support and address concerns.
The councilors evinced support for a park, which various community members have tried to make a reality over the years with little progress. Nearby towns have parks, noted Councilor Michael Bloom.
"I have a 12-year-old I bring regularly to Williamstown's and Adams' skateboard parks," he said, adding that policing and safety considerations have to be addressed. "All that plays into the decision making so that older residents are as happy as the younger residents."
Councilor Marie Harpin said she and later Gail Grandchamp had advocated for a skate park years before at the Houghton Street playground to no avail.
"I could not get any support from people in the community to go along with a skate board [park]," said Harpin. "I hope you have better luck than I did."
Shepard said the program had done a simple survey some time ago that found broad support for a skate park among the city's youth; top locations were behind the Big Y and Noel Field.
She hoped that the council would be open to group's input: "Having a youth voice is good but having a council voice is good, too."
Councilor Gailanne Cariddi suggested that the General Government Committee, of which she is chairman, begin looking into the establishment of a youth commission to provide a more formal voice for the city's youth.
Alcombright agreed, saying, "I think it could aid in the progress and really legitimize the group."
In other business:
- The Finance Committee reported its discussion on Jan. 25 on how a sewer-user fee could offset rising costs of the Hoosac Quality Water District currently paid through property taxes and be used to update the city's aging sewer infrastructure. The issue was referred for further discussion with the mayor's office,along with a request for more information and will be brought back to the council March 9. Nearly 5,000 homes are connected to the waste-water district.
- The council approved the mayor's reappointment of David Lamarre to the Licensing Board.
- Councilor Gailanne Cariddi passed on information from local attorney Richard Taskin that the city's juvenile curfew ordinance had been brought up in a recent case in reference to a Supreme Judicial Court ruling that invalidated a similar ordinance in Lowell. The ordinance was referred for review by the Public Safety Committee at her suggestion.
- Harpin reminded residents to return their city census forms and Councilor Lisa Blackmer said the public was invited to the Community Development Committee meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 6:30.
- Alcombright urged patience during the reconstruction of the Hadley Overpass, particularly since work has stretched into the evening hours over the past two weeks. He said will be meeting with state Department of Transportation and Maxymillion Inc. officials to discuss the matter on Monday.
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If they are really serious, this link will take them to the application for a $25,000 grant to get it done.
www.tonyhawkfoundation.org/grant application.asp
I have already been in touch with them and forwarded all info to mayor Alcombright's office and to his website.
The following is part of an email I received...
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It's great to hear of the community efforts and support of building a skatepark in your town. As you know, skateboarding can provide countless benefits to people of all ages, while a free public skatepark is an asset for the entire community.
To find out more about our grant program, you can visit our website:
http://www.tonyhawkfoundation.org/grant_application.asp
The first paragraph details what the Foundation Board considers in grant applications. Applications are available twice a year to fill out online, and the next grant application will be available online to fill out starting January 15 with a deadline of March 1. Make sure to read the eligibility requirements to see if your community will qualify to apply. You will want to have some momentum going in your skatepark project prior to applying, as the Foundation Board considers such things as skater involvement, skatepark design, fundraising efforts, and community support. That being said, I'm including a few tips below to help you get started:
In the last decade, skateparks have become one of the most popular choices for new recreational facilities. With one-in-six youth today skateboarding, it's become apparent that we need to provide them with safe, accessible places to practice their sport. But still, there are only about 2,500 skateparks nationwide to accommodate 13-million skateboarders.
The Tony Hawk Foundation has been working with communities since 2002 to help them achieve their dream skatepark--one that's free, challenging, and fun. Our Web site at http://www.tonyhawkfoundation.org includes lots of information about our work, and about the skatepark process. I suggest you start there, and familiarize yourself with some of the general topics (Skatepark Development Guide section), as well as the issues many communities face when pursuing a skatepark (FAQ section). That should help you get started on your path to a safe, quality public skatepark.
The Tony Hawk Foundation has partnered with the nonprofit Skaters For Public Skateparks (www.skatepark.org) and International Association of Skateboard Companies (www.skateboardiasc.org) to publish the Public Skatepark Development Guide, a 128-page book that covers the entire skatepark process. The book is FREE (though you will have to pay for shipping), and I would recommend ordering a copy from www.publicskateparkguide.org. You can also read the contents of the book online at www.skatepark.org. The book includes chapters on planning, fundraising, design, and management.
You can also call the Parks And Recreation departments in cities in your region that have skateparks to get some valuable first-hand experience. Ask for the skatepark program administrator. Those individuals have likely dealt with many of the obstacles that you will, but have persevered. Their experience may prove invaluable to you as you move through the process.
In the meantime, begin building a coalition of skaters and parents who are interested in working toward getting a skatepark. Don't let the dismissive attitude of some local leaders discourage you. Explain the need for the park, and how it will benefit the entire community (a place for skaters to go, and fewer skaters weaving through pedestrians on the sidewalk).
Pack city council meetings with skatepark supporters. Make sure that adults address the council and speak in support of the skaters and their need for a park. And the skaters should speak, too, and make their case. The skaters this whole process affects, in fact, should be involved in the whole drawn-out political process because it will change them and it will change the attitudes of the council members who hear them articulate their needs for a place to skate.
I think you'll be surprised how things begin to change once you build some momentum.
Please check out the info I listed above. As you move forward in your skatepark campaign, feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns may have.
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They are willing to help if there is enough real support within the community. | | from: Reenie | on: 01-27-2010 12:00AM
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| There were a few young people that tried to get a skate board park in here last year. They were shot down by the Mayor and were told they would have to raise the money themselves. They all had really great ideas for younger children and older children into late teens and 20's. These people have were shot down and had so many ideas. Lets hope someone actually listens to these young people. The other young adults even suggested places for a skate board park the might be in the middle of the city for everyone to have accesse to. | | from: Susan | on: 01-29-2010 12:00AM
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| I guess I didn't read all of the comments. These other young adults had also brought up Tony Hawkes | | from: Susan | on: 01-29-2010 12:00AM
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